At the beginning of the 2014 NWSL season, the Portland Thorns set a goal to not only repeat as NWSL champions, but also celebrate their second title at home in front of 15,000 devoted fans at Providence Park.

But over halfway through the NWSL season, it's growing more and more unlikely that the Thorns will meet their goal of hosting a playoff game.

"At this point, we just got to get in the playoffs," Thorns coach Paul Riley said. "We were talking about first and second and now we're talking about just getting in the playoffs and see what happens from there."

With 10 games left on their schedule, the Thorns (6-6-2) currently sit in a three-way tie for fourth place and the final playoff spot. To host a playoff game, Portland would have to finish the season in first or second place — an arduous task since the Thorns are a full 10 points behind second-place FC Kansas City and 19 points behind first-place Seattle Reign.

"I think the performances have been OK," Riley said. "But we're just not getting results. At the end of the day, it's a result-driven business."

The Thorns boast arguably one of the most talented rosters in the world and they never expected that they would be grinding their way through the second half of the season just to sneak into the playoffs.

"I just think we've struggled a little bit," Thorns defender Emily Menges said. "Every team has its ups and down and I think this is a good turning point ... This is the time where it's now or never. We can't afford to lose any more games and we all know that in the locker room."

For the first nine games of the season, the Thorns were missing a handful of their top players due to injuries, national team call-ups and commitments abroad.

But during that time, Portland went 4-3-2 and the Thorns have actually regressed since the arrival of their top players, going 2-3-0 over their last five games.

Portland put together probably its worst performance in franchise history on June 7 when Morgan, Boquete, Van Hollebeke and Australian women's national team defender Stephanie Catley all made their debuts.

But after the dominant performance in Washington, the Thorns returned to Portland and once again had trouble scoring in a 2-1 loss to Sky Blue.

"For us, it's been up and down," Riley said. "We won two in a row and we looked like, 'Oh, here we go,' and then the wheels came off again."

Despite the inconsistent play, the Thorns have certainly put themselves in a good enough position to make the playoffs if they can play up to their potential in the second half of the season.

"I think the rest of league is probably worried that we haven't really hit form yet and we're hanging around," Riley said. "We just have to keep working. We have a great group of players. I really believe in the group."

In 2013, the Thorns had a rocky regular season and snuck into the playoffs as the third seed before making a run and winning the NWSL championship title. If they hope to defend their title, they may have to do it in similar fashion.

The Thorns, at least, will have the benefit of more consistency in their lineup as they approach the last 10 games of the season.

Heath, who arrived in Portland this week, was the last player the Thorns were waiting on to join the team.

With their full, world-renowned roster finally in place, the Thorns are heading into the final stretch of the season with something to prove.

"We are the (defending) champions and everyone wants to beat us, and that puts even more pressure on us," Boquete said. "We know we have to make the playoffs and we know that the goal is to fight to be the champions again, but we have to go step by step. Playoffs and the championship won't come if we don't win the next game."